It is difficult for the modern world to imagine a combination of wood and water. They seem to be incompatible things. The usual materials that are used in the decoration of the bathroom, appeared in production relatively recently. For centuries, people used wooden troughs, tubs, barrels in everyday life, and built ships from wood. Now the wood is again becoming a luxurious decoration of the interior of the bathroom.
Advantages and disadvantages of wood finish in bathroom
The idea that wood is not the most practical material for surface finishing, plumbing has long been irrelevant. The methods of working with wood yield a material that is completely moisture resistant. Absolute strength, infinite variety of design allow you to choose a model for any interior.
The positive aspects of wood finishes:
The wood in the bathroom has several serious drawbacks:
The choice of materials and finishing methods
Resistance to moisture in the materials used now significantly increased. In the design is used a veneered board, wooden lining, which helps to reduce design costs.
Acquire finishing material, taking into account the parameters:
The elements of the wall, ceiling, floor should be perfectly dried before installation. Otherwise, the process of decay will go from the inside, despite all types of waterproofing.
Ceilings in a specific bathroom should be suspended. It’s easier to hide communications behind them, they become a shield on the way of moist, warm air. The frame is made of a special profile, which is usually used in street conditions. It has a special coating that resists corrosion.
Using natural wood
Solid wood finish is environmentally friendly and has good thermal insulation performance. Modern technologies used by manufacturers guarantee the use of products for an unlimited time, thanks to a special composition of impregnation, seven-fold varnish coating. The oily, wax coating is just as reliable.
Absolute moisture resistance is demonstrated by teak, African Iroko, fairly hard wood species, resistant to deformation, with low hygroscopicity. Beech, oak, pine are traditionally popular. Feel good in wet areas: larch, maple, ash.
Areas suffering from high humidity are finished with exotic species: wenge, kumaru, padauk. Olive and ebony wood are popular, eucalyptus and bamboo are practical. The market offers an array of natural shades, tinted in any color.
Installation of walls, floors with cork sheets is not difficult. They are fixed with glue, the room takes on a presentable unusual look.
Good moisture resistance is demonstrated by glued or veneered boards, it does not require additional processing, it joins well and is immediately ready for installation.
Wood stylized materials
Due to the high cost, many replace wood with tiles, panels with a touch of wood. Ceramic tiles that simulate parquet are suitable for finishing the floor. The ceramic is not afraid of moisture, mold.
The moisture-proof plastic paneling looks good, and shelving is also made of it. If the budget allows, finishing with porcelain tiles imitation of laminate, stone or concrete will last quite a long time.
In order to save money and not to bother with surface care, a rational interior solution would be to use wood only as an additional element of decoration or only for shelves, cabinets.
An alternative material that successfully combines or replaces wood are PVC panels. They will last not so long, but they are inexpensive, easy to install, do not require putty, are varied in color, including wood, plates of moisture-proof plywood with veneer finish.
Massive board for covering the bathroom floor is mainly made from hardwood, ready for installation, and will not entail additional protective treatment. Equally popular is a three-layer parquet board. They are convenient to install, go well with stone, ceramics.
One of the new products is wall linoleum. It is made of polyurethane fiber, on top of which watercolor images are applied. Glue it to the wall with special glue after preliminary leveling the surface. The raw material has high moisture resistance, a wide selection of colors.
The cheaper, non-sputum-resistant material is moisture-resistant wood imitation wallpaper. Renovation work is carried out quickly, but they will often have to be replaced due to wear and tear, possible fungus development.
Variety of colors
The design of a wood bathroom will not become cozy if you do not follow certain rules in the renovation process. When choosing a color palette:
Wood and black bathroom
In the bathroom, contrasting color combinations are applicable. Always a spectacular combination of light and dark, a combination of muted and bright. As a rule, one or two tones prevail, the rest only complement them.
Wood and white bathroom
White color in the trends of 2020 is not much behind the leader – neutral gray. But in the hustle and bustle, they somehow forgot that there is a variety of classics – a white bathroom with wood elements.
And, of course, the fashion for this color scheme of modern bathrooms has not died out at all. In addition, the color scheme of white and various textures of natural wood at the peak of popularity is not one decade. Accordingly, for those who want to make renovations as little as possible, a wooden-white palette is the perfect solution.
Wood and gray bathroom
Plumbing is better in tones that are opposite in color, warm and cold. If you want to make the situation brighter, achromatic, resort to using gray color.
Wood and beige or wenge bathroom
Especially popular is the tiled wood that looks good in brown and beige. Also, the finish can have shades of exotic expensive wood species, for example, wenge, mahogany or rosewood, which will be more appropriate in spacious bathrooms.
Gloss and matte
The combination of gloss and matte coatings looks interesting, which can be emphasized by daylight penetrating into the room, passing through frosted, corrugated glass.
The choice of plumbing and furniture
White plumbing is the most versatile option. Colored will require a special approach. In order to avoid discrepancies in color, you must buy it with a kit. Choosing a bright sink and shower equipment, the environment is formed in a more contrasting tone or completely unsaturated in color.
Bright whiteness sometimes does not harmonize with muted shades of wooden walls. In this case, warm shades of white or cool gray-blue, green will help.
“Correct” bathroom furniture is made from a quality processed solid wood, particleboard, rattan. Interior items should have a moisture-resistant coating, clearly fitted mechanisms, and a fastening system made of anticorrosive metal. When buying, carefully study the joints, sections for integrity. Opening, closing drawers, doors should not cause difficulties.
Wooden sink and bathtub
A bathtub, a wooden sink will decorate any interior. To create them, you must have a certain skill, experience. This type of plumbing is done manually, it is often treated with impregnating and coating compositions.
A wooden bath is usually installed on a special podium. Perfectly combined with wood, chrome plated, copper faucets, legs made of bronze. The inside of the product is carefully cleaned, polished, and varnished from the outside. Shapes and sizes depend on the style of the room.
Lighting features
Lamps that give a lot of heat in humid spaces do not work best on wooden coatings. The color and texture of wooden surfaces also influence the choice of lighting system.
The best choice would be halogen, LED devices with cold light. Light coverage will require brighter lighting. Strict dark wood is more likely to be diffused light.
Ventilation
It is advisable to think over the ventilation system before the time of construction. When buying a house or apartment, where the ventilation system is already installed, it will be necessary to arrange forced air exchange, which is necessary for wooden houses. Otherwise, an indicator of this will be fogging of glasses and mirror surfaces, the appearance of a fungus.
In order not to bring to such consequences, the exhaust system should be designed for a certain area, the amount of expected moisture. The presence of a shower also is taken into account, whether the bathroom is combined or divided.
Design ideas and stylistic directions
The bathroom with wood trim can be made in many styles. It looks like spa. A bath in a wooden box, a sunbed and a table made of related material are in harmony with light walls and large windows in wooden frames. The room is filled with light, which relaxes almost like outdoors.
The rigor of the modern style is softened by wooden elements. The light floor is combined with the dark wood walls or partitions.
The roughness and simplicity of a rustic style is emphasized by a natural wood. In a room where not only the presence of water, but also a lot of woody aromas relaxes, the proximity of natural nature is especially felt.
The most commonly used eco style. The use of ecological materials of light tones, natural aromas of finishes urge you to stay in the room for as long as possible.
Greatness, solidity of classics, harmony are emphasized by expensive materials: solid wood, natural stone, the use of gilding elements and silk.
The functionality of Art Nouveau provides a combination of wood, glass, metal. Modern cabinet furniture, accessories with floral ornaments enhance the elegance of the interior.
Conclusion
A wooden bathroom has ceased to be a luxury for a long time. Thanks to modern technology, its arrangement will not entail supernatural efforts. The main thing is to take care of the appropriate water resistance, steam removal system, excess moisture. Convenience and practicality is not inferior to other materials.
